We have discovered that being authentic is the most important success factor when working with adolescents and their parents. While authenticity is something we highly value no matter what the age of a client, it is especially important when working with teenagers.

At Sessions Family Therapy, our teenage clients can expect to work with a mental health professional who will not attempt to act like another authority figure in their life. Instead, they interact with a “real person” who honestly wants to hear their unique story so that they can guide them through their struggles.

As adults, we are quick to forget how difficult the life of a teenager can be. When compared to the stressful demands of adulthood, it is easy to minimize the problems of our teenage children. However, the demands of being a teenager can be overwhelming. The pressures of school, expectations from friends and social media, and identity development can often rock their world. With teenage clients we often find that it is the fragile nature of identity that lends to the development of problem areas such as academic underachievement, family conflict, anxiety, depression, substance use, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and more.

At Sessions Family Therapy we seek to involve the parents in the process as much as we can. Mending conflictual relationships between parent and child is almost always a primary goal of therapy. With that in mind we have developed individualized treatment approaches dependent upon the needs of each family we work with. Often, adolescents’ mental health challenges are inherently linked to overall family functioning. For some cases, it becomes clear that ongoing, individual therapy will be most effective for the teen, while other cases require a more integrative approach involving individual therapy, and/or parent coaching and family therapy. We value a thoughtful, slower approach to assessing the particular needs of a case, and view collaboration with the parents in making treatment decisions as invaluable to the process.

While the term “codependency” is almost commonplace in the context of addiction, it can develop in just about any relationship where two or more individuals become dependent upon one another to an unhealthy degree. Clues to the source of codependent tendencies can usually be traced to upbringing and relationship history , but it is often the introduction of a life stressor experienced by one individual in the family/couple that can lead to, or exacerbate the development of such relationship patterns. Examples of such stressors include an increase in drug use, job loss, diagnosis of illness (either physical or mental), domestic violence, unmet financial needs, poor academic performance, problem behavior at school, etc. Problematic relationship patterns often develop in a slow, subtle manner which is why it can be so difficult to identify until it feels almost too late to resolve.

Taking the approach of improving our relationships by first taking control of our own lives may feel counterintuitive. This is especially true when the relationship is with someone we love, such as an adolescent child, or significant other. It requires fighting every instinctual urge we have to help our loved one first, and then address ourselves later. The difficult truth is that this order needs to be reversed to produce actual change for both parties. Ironically, it is usually the focus and energy being directed toward the struggling loved one that only perpetuates the problem, and in many cases intensifies it.

Witnessing this tragedy unfold within the families we have treated is why we have such a passion for helping individuals navigate out of entangled, codependent relationships. With empathy, patience and understanding, we guide clients through the process of redirecting their focus and energy back to themselves and managing the difficult and confusing emotions that can flood in due to taking such scary steps toward change.

When it comes to underserved communities in mental health treatment, first responders don’t immediately come to mind. It’s natural to think they “have it all together,” since the nature of their job requires such a demeanor. Yet it is that expectation that creates an undue burden on them to never let their guard down. Consequently, first responders feel an immense pressure to be calm and rational under great distress…even when that distress exists in their own minds.

Being chronically exposed to traumatic scenarios, it is no wonder that first responders can be especially vulnerable to mental health complications. When you add the societal expectations heaped upon them, the unique difficulties of this group become crystal clear.

At Sessions Family Therapy, our experience with this population makes us an invaluable resource to first responders and their families. Our mission is to provide an appropriate space for processing the emotional toll that the job can take on individuals and their families, as well as equip them with tools for healthy coping and communications that are customized to their specialized circumstances.

The reality is that first responders and their families have unique needs that can be missed by mental health professionals who are not familiar with both the demands of the job and its subculture. Well intended interventions and typical therapeutic approaches can not only fall short of helping but unintended consequences can make issues worse.

First responders have adapted to the job using psychological defense mechanisms they feel are necessary to navigate their difficult role. Hence, there is an understandable and appropriate hesitation about the therapeutic process that may affect their decision to seek therapy. At Sessoins Family Therapy we do our best to strike a balance between understanding the effectiveness of those defense mechanisms and introducing new skills that enable the individual to effectively discern when, where, and how to turn those defenses on and off. It is with this in mind that we approach each case with an integration of cultural competence and openness to learn more.